This chapter addresses the linkages and
interactions between deserts and the rest of
our planet. While desert climate is controlled
by processes taking place outside deserts,
processes in deserts also affect climate away from
deserts. Deserts and non-deserts are linked by
dust generated in deserts that travels away from
deserts, and rivers that originate outside deserts
dramatically affect deserts while flowing through
them. People from outside deserts migrate or visit
deserts, while desert people export minerals and
fossil energy to non-desert economies. Deserts
also serve as corridors through which goods travel
and cultures are exchanged, and desert corridors
serve bird migration and locust invasions. Finally,
though most deserts are remote from leading
centres of science, research carried out in deserts
has enriched knowledge of the history of our
universe and planet, of life on earth, and of peoples
and their cultures.